Saturday, February 5, 2011

Trissa of Trissalicious was one of the first bloggers to reach out to me as a new kid on the (bloggin') block. I just had the honor of guest posting on her site. And to my delight, she also agreed to prepare a post for mine. As you'll soon experience, Trissa has a wonderfully warm style of writing that's guaranteed to make you smile (and often laugh). Plus her beautiful photos always make me drool. Another thing I love about Trissa is that she's both sweet and spunky. When she learned of my Donna Hay obsession, for example, she immediately offered to mail me the latest issue from Australia. Yet this same lady successfully faked a proposal to get into a famous and completely booked restaurant! How's that for gutsy? Oh and did I mention she's a masterof macarons? Some other standout recipes on her blog include the mango natilla custard cake, strawberry watermelon cake, and bechamel prawn-stuffed mussels. But (and I hope I don't seem biased when I tell you) the cake she shares below just jumped to the top of my to-try list! Please give your warmest welcome to my dear friend, Trissa.

Being invited to someone's house for dinner always poses a problem for me. I often wonder, what's the best thing to bring? Given a choice between bringing the standard wine, flowers or food, I'll inevitably resort to bringing food. Then there's the dilemma of what dish to bring. Do I bring an entree or dessert? And God forbid if I bring the same dish that the host is cooking!

Being asked to guest blog is just as nerve wracking. Especially when the one asking has such a beautifully written and photographed blog like Xiaolu from 6 Bittersweets. If you haven't already met Xiaolu, let me tell you a little bit more about her. She's a great baker, cook and all-around super foodie. I admire her because she turned her back on a successful career at a law firm to pursue a career in nutrition, for which she is currently studying for. It takes guts and personality to do something like that - and both traits shine through when you read her blog. Plus she makes the most beautiful cakes...

I pondered for weeks over what would be suitable for her blog. I knew she was fond of desserts so definitely something sweet most likely...but what? Should I make something tried and tested or experiment on something new? Would she like it? Would she have already made something similar? The list went on and on...but of course Xiaolu, ever the gracious host, gave me the kind encouragement, inspiration and free hand to let me do as I pleased.

So I decided to make a dessert I had never made before but had heard rave reviews from friends and family. It's a twist on a very popular Filipino dessert called Brazo de Mercedes, which literally translates to "The arm of a lady named Mercedes". The reason being the original dessert is shaped like a jelly roll which was supposed to resemble the shape of a woman's arm. The outer layer is a fluffy meringue and inside is a custard made from the left over egg yolks and milk. I had heard that a popular variation on this cake was to freeze it, so instead of a jelly roll, you instead had a frozen layered cake where the bottom layer is made from graham crackers, followed by a thick layer of vanilla ice cream, then the custard and finally the meringue.

Now, I'm not much of a sweet tooth and the idea of ice cream, custard, and meringue sounded a little bit too sugary for my liking - but I did manage to wolf down two large slices, which went down especially well given the heat of the Sydney summer. Everyone else that I offered it to enjoyed it and also asked for seconds so yes, it was a great success. Good enough for Xiaolu's blog?

I'm certainly hoping so! :)

DEFINITELY good enough! Trissa, can I please just have the whole cake to myself? =p

Preheat the oven to 275 F (135 C) for non-convection ovens OR 250 F (120 C) for convection ovens. Grease and line a 15 x 10-inch pan and then grease the baking paper once more. Using a stand mixer, beat the egg whites until semi-stiff peaks and then gradually start adding the sugar until you have stiff peaks but make sure that you don't over beat the egg whites, otherwise it will go grainy. Spread the egg whites on to the baking tray and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and then place the baking tray on top of a rack and allow to cool. Set aside.

Place the egg yolks and condensed milk in a stainless steel bowl and place the bowl a top a pot of simmering water, making sure that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Mix the egg yolks and the condensed milk until thick using a whisk until the mixture has thickened like a custard. Remove from the heat and then add the butter, making sure to fully incorporate. Allow to cool in the refrigerator and set aside until needed.

Heat the butter in the microwave until melted, then add the sugar and the graham crackers. Mix thoroughly and then spread over two 8 1/2 x 6-inch pans. Bake for 10 minutes and then remove. Allow to cool before assembly.

To assemble, place a layer of ice cream, around half an inch (1.3 cm or so) thick, over the graham crust. Place the mixture in the freezer and allow to set for around 30 minutes. Then add the custard layer and then return this to the freezer and allow to set for another 30 minutes. Finally, cut the meringue (you will have more than you need, so ensure that you can cut it large enough to fit the tray) to fit the two trays and place on top of the custard layer. Return the dessert to the freezer and allow to set for around three hours.

Hello Xialou. I'm so glad to have discovered your blog through Trissa's which I've been following for quite a long time and is one of my favorites. This guest post of hers is another extraordinary one. What a beautiful cake!Wishing you both all the best!Magda

I have very fond memories of Brazos as a child. Growing up, my mom used to make the meringue while my grandmother made the thick eggy custard for the middle. I helped roll it all up. While I've never had the frozen version, it'd be a treat to try!

Besides being beautiful, this sounds delicious! I see that you put all 8 egg whites and yolks to good use in this recipe:) My daughter-in-law is Filipino so I want to surprise her with this dessert!:) Thanks! It was also fun to learn more about Xiaolu:)

Oh, I agree, I want this whole cake too! I've never attempted a layered dessert but this actaully looks doable :) I love this guest post thing you two have done; it's wonderful to see the community of bloggers in action! :P

Tried this recipe today and, although overall happy, I have a few suggestions.

I found that the 30 min. after putting the ice cream layer atop the graham crackers was not enough. I made the mistake of applying the custard (egg yolk) mixture too early and it mixed into the ice cream. I recommend that you wait at least an hour (or more) to allow the ice cream to freeze completely. Secondly, the meringue (egg white yolk) mixture started to break apart too easily when I was transferring it as the last layer. Maybe instead of 8 egg whites, you should recommend at least 10-12 so that there is sufficient layering.

This looks so amazing! Brazo has always been one of my favorites but I wanted to find a layered recipe that looks more appetizing and this definitely looks the part! I'll try it for my family's holiday party.